Eddie Hearn says he would not want to be as ‘cold’ as Dana White after losing Conor Benn over a reported $15 million offer from Zuffa Boxing.
Hearn guided the 29-year-old Englishman from his professional debut to two stadium headliners against Chris Eubank Jr last year, with a win in the September rematch finally making him one of the sport’s biggest names.
‘The Destroyer’, who was out of contract, reportedly received a $15 million offer from White’s Zuffa Boxing. Now, he is scheduled to make his debut for the new organisation against former world champion Regis Prograis on the Tyson Fury card, which will air on Netflix on April 11th.
Eddie Hearn responds to Dana White’s latest comments
Hearn did not hold back after Benn’s move to Zuffa Boxing, openly admitting he was ‘devastated’ by the decision. In response, Dana White called him a ‘p—-‘ during the post-fight press conference for UFC Houston.
Speaking to Boxing Social, the British promoter fired back, saying his emotional approach comes from caring about fighters – something he believes White cannot relate to given how UFC athletes are paid and treated.
“I think we are just different. I’m an emotional guy when it comes to what I do. I think part of that, people love. And when I get upset because I think someone’s betrayed me I don’t think that makes me a p—-, it just makes me someone who carries emotions towards what I do.
“Right or wrong, maybe he doesn’t care, maybe he doesn’t want to treat people like my fighters. Maybe he’s not bothered about those partnerships and relationships with fighters where he does get emotional.
“Have you ever seen him go make a prat out of himself like I do when someone wins? No. All it is for him is a business, for me it’s a passion. It’s a business as well, but it’s something I love and that’s why when you see Dmitry Bivol win or Dalton Smith win, you see me run in the ring and dive around on the floor.
“I know I look like a clown, I know I don’t look cool because I don’t care about looking cool at that point. It’s all emotion. But that goes both ways. So yeah, when things don’t go my way for a fighter I am upset or if a fighter goes against me like that, yeah, I am emotional.
“That doesn’t make me a p—-, it just means I care. If you don’t care, I understand it but I don’t want to be around a business like that, I don’t want to live my life like that. I want to care. Emotion is real.”
Eddie Hearn takes issue with TKO’s ‘cold’ business style
White, already known as a stern operator, is joined in the TKO venture by WWE boss Nick Khan and Hollywood powerhouse Ari Emmanuel. Hearn suggests the trio might be too ‘cold’ for boxing.
“I think I’m pretty cold. But what I see from those guys is real coldness. Look at the way they treat the UFC guys and look at the response from the UFC fighters and look at what happened to Tom Aspinall,” the Matchroom Boxing boss said.
Hearn mentioned Tom Aspinall, who suffered severe eye injuries against Ciryl Gane last year and needed double eye surgery. Since then, White has not shown much concern for his situation.
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